Portable data processor

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD [Detailed description of the invention]

【0001】

[Industrial application field]

In the present invention, an IC card is attached to a battery-powered portable computer device such as a portable personal computer, and power is supplied from the main body device to an external extended function or an external device or an external network. The present invention relates to a portable data processing device that provides various connection functions that can be connected to a network.

【0002】

[Conventional technology]

IC cards such as memory cards and I / O cards have come to be widely used as means for expanding the functions of portable computer devices. Of these, as I / O cards, for example, ether net cards, modem cards, fax cards, etc. are provided, and mainly as an access means to networks and communication systems, appliques are provided. It can be widely used in combination with a fax machine. In addition, among these cards, there is also a memory card that has a built-in battery in the card itself and enables data storage of internal RAM. These can retain the built-in data even if the card is removed or the power supply of the computer device main body is stopped. However, most IC cards rely on the power supply from the computer. This is a card that controls access to the communication system and external drive mentioned above, while the current consumption for functioning the card is sufficient if it is a memory card, at most several mA. Then, depending on the type of LSI built into the card, a current of about 60 to 70mA or more is required. Therefore, in a portable data processing device equipped with these IC cards, the power consumed by this card is not negligible for the battery capacity of the computer device.

【0003】

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

An IC card that requires power supply from a computer device is already under the control of the power management of the main unit at that time when it is installed, and the power supply is controlled in conjunction with the application. In particular, many applications that control the communication system are resident programs, and are usually held in a state in which communication can be operated at all times. At this time, for example, when the communication application is operated while the remaining battery supply of the installed battery is low, the current load of the card is applied to the installed battery, which may accelerate the decrease of the battery supply capacity and the voltage. .. Even if it is sufficient at the initial stage of communication, the maximum load is always required during the duration of communication, so that the function may not be able to continue due to a voltage drop during communication. As a result, important communication data may be deleted in the middle, access to the external drive may be stopped, and problems such as corruption of important data may occur. In the case of fax communication, the image data or control process is interrupted, and the application ends in a communication error state with the other party's device.

【0004】

[Means for solving problems]

Batteries used in this type of mobile device are often nickel-cadmium or nickel-metal hydride types that have a large supply current and can be recharged. However, if the voltage drops suddenly when the remaining capacity is low and a voltage drop warning appears, you should immediately quit the application and recharge it, replace the battery, or change to the AC adapter. Become. Therefore, the data related to the decrease in the remaining battery level is detected by the control driver of the IC card, and the current supply to the card and the application operation can be controlled.

【0005】

[Action]

According to the configuration of the present invention, when the remaining battery level of the mobile device is appropriately notified to the card control driver and a specified decrease in the remaining battery level is detected as a result, the power supply to the IC card is stopped and the function of the IC card is stopped. Let me do it. In addition, it is also effective to inform the user of information such as the normal operation of the function cannot be guaranteed for the operating application, or to forcibly execute the normal termination process even if the application is operating. As a result, while maintaining the minimum functions of the original computer device, the communication process with the communication partner via the IC card and the access with the external device are completed, and the running application is terminated normally. , The function of the driver control of the card is maintained and achieved.

【0006】

[Example]

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

【0007】

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment in which a portable computer device (hereinafter referred to as a portable device main body) according to the present invention is connected to a battery and an IC card. In FIG. 1, (1) is a battery supplied to the mobile device main body (26), which is directly connected to the mobile device main body (26) at a terminal portion (11). Battery charging / discharging is controlled by the power control unit (10) to control the power supply to the device, monitor the current flow from the battery, and count the remaining battery level (5). It is provided to the main control unit of. Further, as a method of supplying power to the main body of the mobile device (26), it can be obtained from an AC power supply via an adapter and a connector (12). (6) is a program memory that incorporates various device control drivers as well as application operation programs. (2) is a display unit such as CRT or liquid crystal, and (3) is a keyboard for inputting control commands and characters / numbers. (8) communicates the control signals and data of various IC cards (13) connected by the connector of (9) on the card interface via the control driver. Of course, it depends on the type of card, but the power required by this is supplied from the main unit power control unit (10) via this interface (8).

【0008】

Since the battery terminal voltage is relatively stable in the steady use state regardless of the degree of the remaining amount, it is technically quite difficult to detect the remaining amount only by the terminal voltage. Therefore, a current detection function is provided in the power control unit (10) of the mobile device main body (26) to check the decrease in battery capacity. On the contrary, in the case of charging, the absolute value of charging can be integrated by subtracting the consumption counter. The remaining battery value obtained in this way is managed by the main control program stored in the program memory (6) of the mobile device main body (26), and the remaining battery value is appropriately grasped according to the function of the application. It is used as data for charging and for charge control. The card interface (8) controls data communication, power supply, etc. according to the type of card. Then, in these cards, communication control with a necessary external device is performed according to an instruction of an application program incorporated by mounting the card.

【0009】

Figure 2 is a conceptual diagram of computer equipment applications such as personal computers and IC card control. In recent years, the number of devices that carry IC cards has increased, and in response to this, Japanese and international standards have been established. Internationally, PCMCIA (Personal Comput-er Memory Card Interface Association), and in Japan, JEIDA stipulates the connection interface between a personal computer and a card and the mechanical configuration of the card. The driver software (21) consists of two software, a card service (22) and a socket service (23). Card service (22) is driver software that handles interface control between the card (13) and application program (25), all of which are resident in the program memory (6) of the computer-device and use an IC card. It enables all application operations. The socket service (23) is for controlling the interface hardware of various cards, and controls the electrical characteristics between the computer device and the computer device specified according to the type of memory card, I / O card, and the like.

【0010】

Next, the operation will be described. When the card (13) is inserted, the socket service (23) first recognizes the card insertion and performs configuration (registration operation) with the card service (22). At this time, the type, connection interface, attribute, power mode, etc. are recognized from the interface information of the card. At this time, the IC card may be supplied with a current that holds the standby state as needed, but this specification is also determined by the contents of the configuration settings.

【0011】

Next, for example, a case where a modem card used for PC communication is inserted will be described. When the communication control application is launched, the modem card is first mounted as an external connection interface (for example, RS232C interface) of the computer device via the socket service (23). Various modem control commands and the like corresponding to haze AT and the like can be communicated with the modem card via this interface via the socket service. Furthermore, power is supplied to various hardware on the card as needed, and communication with the communication line becomes possible.

【0012】

When it is driven by the battery (1) of the mobile device (26), the remaining amount detection program existing in the operation system (hereinafter referred to as OS) (20) of the mobile device book (26) operates. The remaining amount of the battery- (1) is detected, and the application program (25) in the OS (20) also checks the status judgment based on this remaining amount information. If the remaining amount of the battery- (1) is, for example, 20% or less, the application program (25) may not be able to guarantee the continuous operation of communication while continuing the current supply to the IC card. If there is, a message such as "Please stop the application immediately to reduce the battery level" is displayed on the display (2). Even if the user ignores it and continues the operation, if there is a sign that the battery voltage is low, a message such as "Battery charge required, communication application will be stopped" is displayed at that point even during communication. , Then instruct to execute the communication termination program within a few tens of seconds. After the negotiation with the communication partner ends normally and the application becomes idle, the application is terminated and then the power supply to the IC card is stopped. After that, when the voltage drops further, the computer device becomes a suspend (pause) state while holding the resume (initial state at the time of restart) state in the memory, although it depends on the setup state specific to the device, and the device function becomes active. Stop.

【0013】

[Effect of the invention]

In this way, when the remaining battery level is appropriately grasped by the card control driver or application in conjunction with the battery detection device of the mobile device, and as a result, the remaining battery level is detected below the specified level, the operating application is notified. Notify the user of information such as the normal operation of the function cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, when a drop in battery voltage is detected, the application is immediately terminated normally, and then the power supply to the IC card is stopped to stop the function of the card. By controlling the communication process with the communication partner via the IC card and access to external devices, and controlling the application operation and the power supply to the IC card, while keeping the functions of the computer-device at a minimum. , Made it possible to make the portable device function optimally.

[Simple explanation of drawings]

[Figure 1]

It is a schematic block diagram of the apparatus and apparatus related to this invention.

[Figure 2]

It is a control system conceptual diagram of an IC card and a computer-device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Portable device battery 2 Computer-Device display 3 Computer-Device Keyboard 4 Internal disk 5 Computer-Device main control unit 6 Program memory 7 data memory 8 card interface 9 connector 10 Power control unit 11 Terminal 12 connector 13 IC card 20 OS (Operating System) 21 Driver software 22 Card service 23 Socket service 25 Various application programs 26 Mobile device body (portable computer device)